Harper is making no excuses for calling Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau by his first name.
At several campaign stops in the campaign so far, Harper had taken to referring to the Liberal leader simply as “Justin.â€
Asked about it on Tuesday, Harper dismissed questions whether he was being disrespectful.
“I think I use that sometimes and sometimes I don’t. That’s how, in our experience, Canadians generally refer to him because that’s how the Liberal party itself has branded him,†Harper said during a stop in Toronto on Tuesday.
Trudeau, who was campaigning in Mississauga, brushed aside Harper’s habit of referring to him by his first name.
“His distraction is working because I just got two questions on that rather than on how to build a stronger economy for the future of this country,†he said in response to a media query. “The fact is, I am staying focused on Canadians and what they need.â€
Campaign spokesperson Kory Teneycke said the Liberals have gone out of their way to market the Liberal leader to Canadians by highlighting his first name.
That includes backdrops with his first name and a website,
www.justin.ca
.
“I think the Liberal party invested a lot of money into branding him as Justin and not surprisingly that’s how most Canadians know him,†Teneycke told reporters.
He said that Harper has referred to Trudeau in a number of ways over the years, “from honourable member to leader of the third party to Mr. Trudeau to Justin Trudeau. He sort of covers the gamut.â€
But political observers suggest that there’s something more at play –– after all, words matter in politics and Harper is not known for his careless speech.
Peter Loewen, a political science professor at the University of Toronto, said Harper is trying to make the campaign about competence and experience.
“By referring to (Trudeau) by his first name, (Harper) is using a social convention that indicates either familiarity and fondness –– not likely –– or that the person is younger and of less stature,†Loewen said in an email on Tuesday. But the reception depends on the listeners’ linguistic context.
Linda Cardinal, who specializes in language and politics at the University of Ottawa, said Trudeau’s branding as “Justin†puts some daylight between the man and his divisive last name in Quebec.
With files from Alex Boutilier
